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Faculty Senate Minutes, Academic Year 2024-2025, October 17, 2024
Get PDFMinutes for the Faculty Senate Meeting held November 21, 2024
All College Meeting - Fall 2024
No full textThe University Library breakout schedule for the All College Meeting Fall 2024
A Call for Social Work Educators to Confront and Dismantle Systemic Racism Within Social Work Programs
No full textThe second volume of a two-part Special Issue of a Trilogy on race and racism amplifies the narratives, experiences, and truths of social work faculty and students who are working to confront and dismantle systemic racism in social work programs and departments globally. Counter-storytelling, using teaching and learning as its central theme, is used to first name racist and colonizing practices and then offer strategies to improve institutional change efforts. Sustainable anti-racist efforts in social work education can be improved by incorporating knowledge, skills, strategies, and lessons learned throughout this Special Issue.https://opus.govst.edu/fac/1293/thumbnail.jp
A Problem-Solving Approach Aimed at Helping Calculus I Students Solve Related Rates Problems
No full textAfter analyzing our Calculus I students’ performance on a related rates problem from a final exam, we designed a teaching experiment aimed at improving our students’ performance at problem solving. For our analysis, we used two frameworks – one specific to related rates problems and Polya’s general framework for problem solving. The analysis of student work on a final exam problem (N = 57) and interviews with 10 students revealed difficulties understanding the problem and making connections between data and unknowns. The results informed a teaching experiment the following semester when a different group of students (N = 13) used Polya’s approach to problem solving. The students solved and discussed related rates problems in geometric contexts, wrote their algorithms, and were assessed by a related rates problem on the final exam. All 13 students understood the problem, used diagrams, and all but one, established a meaningful relation with quantities from the problem. Having students create their algorithms seems to be a promising strategy in the teaching and learning of related rates problems.https://opus.govst.edu/fac/1291/thumbnail.jp
River City Cuts Back: A Balancing Act Simulation
No full textThis case presents the typical scenario in a medium-sized municipality when it appears the economy is headed into a recession. The organization must make spending choices while also considering city council priorities. In this case, Karl Meier, the chief financial officer of River City, has just received some updated economic forecasts at a recent professional development conference. He calls upon his principles of cutback budgeting and citizen engagement to position the organization for the next fiscal year. The expected budget deficit is about $7.5 million. River City will need to consider both revenues and expenditures to achieve a projected budget balance, mindful of the council’s strategic goals and priorities. Students assume a budgeting actor role and use the Balancing Act simulation to propose a balanced budget to the city council reflective of the budgeting actor’s community perspective.https://opus.govst.edu/fac/1266/thumbnail.jp
Variation Patterns of Fine Root Biomass, Production, and Turnover Rates in Four Subtropical Forests of China
Get PDFFine roots (diameter ≤ 2 mm) play a critical role in regulating soil organic carbon storage and nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. However, the variability in fine root biomass, production, and turnover rates across different forest types remains poorly understood. This study investigates fine root dynamics, including biomass, distribution, and turnover, across four major monoculture plantation forests in subtropical China: Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook), Masson pine (Pinus massoniana Lamb.), Chinese sweet gum (Liquidambar formosana Hance), and camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora (L.) J. Presl). Using a sequential coring method, soil samples were collected monthly to monitor live and dead fine root biomass across different soil depths (0–15 cm, 15–30 cm, 30–45 cm, and 45–60 cm). Fine root production and turnover rates were estimated using three methods: Max–Min, Integral and Decision Matrix. The results showed that fine root biomass was highest in the camphor tree forest (1.96 t ha−1), followed by Masson pine (1.12 t ha−1), Chinese fir (0.89 t ha−1), and Chinese sweet gum (0.83 t ha−1). Approximately 90% of the total fine root biomass was composed of live roots across all forest types, highlighting their significant role in nutrient uptake. Both live and dead fine roots were predominantly concentrated in the upper 0–30 cm soil layer, with a notable decline in biomass in deeper layers. Fine root biomass production was highest in the camphor tree forest (2.66–2.90 t ha−1 a−1), followed by Masson pine (1.16–1.83 t ha−1 a−1), Chinese fir (0.87–0.97 t ha−1 a−1), and Chinese sweet gum (0.87–0.93 t ha−1 a−1). Turnover rates were highest in the camphor tree forest (1.25–1.36 a−1), followed by Masson pine (0.96–1.51 a−1), and both Chinese fir and Chinese sweet gum (0.94–1.05 a−1 and 0.97–1.04 a−1, respectively). This study identifies significant differences in fine root dynamics among subtropical forest types, providing baseline data critical for optimizing forest management, particularly in urban and peri-urban areas. These insights can enhance reforestation efforts, ecosystem resilience, and sustainable forest productivity.https://opus.govst.edu/fac/1023/thumbnail.jp
Gauging Student Progress: The Need for Daily Formative Assessment
No full textAssessment drives instruction. Teachers need an effective procedure for determining students\u27 learning and mastery of a concept of skill daily. Formative assessment meets this demand. It is designed to take place during instruction while learning is occurring. Formative assessments supply teachers with needed methods to monitor students\u27 learning through a deliberate and intentional process. During the assessment process, teachers provide affirming and corrective feedback to clarify of correct any misunderstandings. The authors argue that formative assessment should be implemented as a daily practice in classrooms given its value in collective data and effectiveness in driving instruction.https://opus.govst.edu/fac/1052/thumbnail.jp
Welcoming Remarks
No full textWelcome Remarks from the FPDD Committee, University President Dr. Cheryl Green, and Senate President Josh Sopiarz at the Faculty Professional Development Day Fall 2024